2012 Joli Coeur Pinot Noir
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Tasting notes
The most complete of Luc Morlet’s 2012 Pinots, the Joli Coeur is terrific. Fresh, vibrant and beautifully nuanced throughout, the Joli Coeur shows more mineral and savory notes, while the fruit lies in the background. There is no shortage of intensity here, but all of that energy and pure concentration is very nicely balanced. This east-facing slope yields wines of real pedigree.
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Robert Parker
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
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The top Pinot Noir cuvée, as well as the smallest at 450 cases, is the 2012 Pinot Noir Joli Coeur (meaning Beautiful Heart). The most multidimensional of these three Pinots, it exhibits a deep ruby/plum/purple color as well as a sweet bouquet of raspberries, black cherries and damp forest floor notes, a full-bodied, lush, round, generously endowed style, and beautiful purity, texture and length. It comes across as a grand cru from the Northern Côte de Nuits. It should drink well for a decade or more.
(made from the best section of the Coteaux Nobles vineyard, on the second ridge in from the coast): Good deep red. Subdued aromas of red fruits, spices and graphite. Sweet, rich and lush, but with excellent acidity giving definition and an exhilarating sappy quality to the middle palate. A hint of salinity is perfectly countered by sweet red fruits. Superb depth and lift on the spicy back end, with the tannins fully coated by fruit. I loved the pungent aromatic qualities of Morlet's 2011 pinots but these 2012s will probably be longer-lived.